The stem cell populations of plant meristems are reliably maintained, although cells continuously leave the meristem and are replaced by new ones. This allows plants to live, to grow, and to generate new organs for up to several thousands of years. Repetitive organ production in the shoot meristem depends on the cross talk between stem cells and a small underlying group of cells, the organizing center. This signaling circuitry has the potential to act as a self-regulatory system that is integrated into a larger regulatory network to control cell fate in the shoot apex. Here we will discuss our recent findings in stem cell regulation that have the potential to address Newmans paradoxon (1965), the "Pattern without matter".